


Officially Friends

by corikane



Series: Teenage Bounty Hunters - series 1 [9]
Category: Teenage Bounty Hunters (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:42:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26445064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corikane/pseuds/corikane
Summary: It's Monday and Sterling comes back to school. Everybody's happy to have her back, some more than others.
Relationships: April Stevens/Sterling Wesley, Blair Wesley & Sterling Wesley, Luke Creswell/Sterling Wesley
Series: Teenage Bounty Hunters - series 1 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1916662
Comments: 16
Kudos: 164





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This took a while, I know. I'm trying to figure out how to wrap everything I want to put into this story into something readable, so updates may take a few days.

"Hey, you two. Did you have a good weekend?" April stopped in front of Hannah B and Ezekiel's table.

"My cousin's quinceanera was amazing. I wish I could have another one."

"A time machine would be required for that," April commented.

Hannah B looked at her questioningly but then it dawned on her. "Right, because I'm sixteen but then that wouldn't really change if I went into the past, right?"

"That's true." April smiled at Hannah B.

"Anyway," Ezekiel said with a measuring glance that went from April to Hannah B and back. "I've been busy all weekend with homework. I did, however, put in some time to perfect my new dance routine."

April clapped her hands. "When are we going to see it?"

"One of these weekends... when my dad isn't around. I'm going to put on a special show just for you guys. If you want."

"Oh, we want," Hannah B said with an emphasis on 'want.'

April thought that she should probably have a word with Hannah B at some point about the fact that Ezekiel wasn't into her. On the other hand, he should probably tell her himself - it was his crush anyway, not really her problem.

My psychiatrist would be so proud of me, right now, giving up control, April thought to herself. But then she called herself back to the conversation.

"I can't wait," she said to Ezekiel. "I missed you both at the Club this weekend. We had lunch with your parents, did they mention that?"

"My mom told me. She said you seemed... out of sorts."

"Your mom is very perceptive. I wouldn't have chosen to go to the Club this weekend but my dad insisted," April said with a grimace. "It's was... not good. Did your mom tell you anything else? About what they were talking about at lunch?"

"Not that I recall, no." Ezekiel gave her a probing look but she just smiled at him.

"I only came back yesterday evening. My parents didn't even mention they'd been at the Club," Hannah said, seemingly disappointed that she'd missed whatever had been going on despite the fun she'd had at her cousin's birthday party.

"It wasn't really anything to write home about. I was just wondering, parents are sometimes such gossips," April said with a dismissive gesture.

"Look, who's back!" Ezekiel suddenly said and April turned.

There, in the doorframe stood Sterling Wesley, with Blair. They were talking, then Blair patted Sterling on the butt in good baseball fashion and sent her into the room. Sterling's eyes seemed wide and frightened for a moment but then they found April among her staring classmates and she seemed to settle down. She came over.

April could barely contain her excitement. Sure, they'd just seen each other the day before under not entirely pleasant circumstances but having her back at school was different. And having Sterling come up to her like it was the most natural thing in the world was positively electrifying.

"Hey," Sterling said shyly when she joined them, standing next to April, letting her hair fall into her face.

April got the feeling that Sterling held back a little. She could have gone to talk with some of her other friends but she came over here and she seemed unsure whether her decision would be rewarded or punished.

"You're back," Hannah said.

"Yeah, I'm back."

"Are you doing all right?" April asked, noticing that her voice was a lot softer than she'd intended it to be. She put her hand on Sterling's arm, rubbing it, but then got self-conscious about it and pulled it back.

"Yes, I'm all right. We came early, sat in the car for a while for me to get acclimated."

"It's good to have you back," Ezekiel said.

April turned her head to him and he gave her a little smile. She raised an eyebrow but he just smiled pleasantly back.

"Yes, it is," April confirmed. "I wanted to... well, I just wanted to say that Sterling and I are friends again. I hope you're all right with that, not that it would change anything if you weren't." She felt, she'd made too much of this moment but she had planned to address this point today and wasn't able to pull back now.

"That's so great," Hannah immediately enthused. She lay her hand over Sterling's which had not been April's intention and she just barely kept from slapping at the offending appendix and snap a sharp 'not for you.' Instead, she gave Hannah B a stiff smile.

"I think that's... wonderful," Ezekiel said still with that knowing look in his eyes, watching April. She had to keep an eye on that. Or maybe she didn't, she wasn't sure. Maybe she could just try and trust a little?

"All right, everyone. Sorry, I'm late. Can everyone sit down please?" Ellen called them to attention.

Sterling and April sat down at the last free table, both delighted that they would be sitting together.

"First order of business, welcome back, Sterling. We missed you so much, it just wasn't the same without you here."

"So where were you?" Franklin asked a moment later.

"Now, Franklin, that's not a way to ask this. If you want to know something like that you might ask after class and Sterling can decide to tell you or not. It's not nice to put people in a spotlight like that. You might want to apologize."

Franklin took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Sterling."

"That's all right. There's been an unfortunate incident on a hunting trip I went on with my family and... I needed some time to recuperate," Sterling recited the official version.

April breathed easier knowing that Hannah B and Ezekiel didn't know about her father's rumor and that they wouldn't spread it around, unknowingly rather than maliciously.

"Were you shot?" somebody asked and April squinted her eyes across the room, finding Lorna looking a little too interested.

"No, I wasn't shot but I also... I don't really wanna talk about what happened, like in detail."

"Well, that's perfectly fine. We should get back to our studies anyway. Finals are only weeks away and I think we should..." Ellen went on with class in her accustomed fashion.

April just couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. Sterling was back and she was sitting right next to her. She looked over at her, let her eyes take her in, felt a smile tug at her lips. And then, under the table, she reached out her hand to Sterling, grabbed her hand that was rubbing nervously at her thighs.

"It's okay," she said softly. "I'm so glad you're back." She let her hand hold Sterling's for a while, it was a little indulgent but nobody was paying any attention to them, not that April had looked around to ensure this.

Sterling was looking at her. "Thank you. This is almost--"

"Excuse me, Sterling," Ellen interrupted.

Under the table, April pulled her hand away.

"I know you've been gone a while but you'll need to wait to catch up until the break. I need you all to concentrate now."

"I'm sorry," Sterling said. "It won't happen again."

Ellen nodded and smiled at them. "I'm so excited for you to be back, too. But work before pleasure. Now..." She resumed the lesson.

April felt questioning fingers at her hand a moment later, still not entirely focused on Bible Studies. The fingers pulled at her until they were holding her hand, fingers entwined. April shut her eyes, took a deep breath before she looked over at Sterling. They exchanged a glance, acknowledged, settled down in their friendship before their hands unclasped and they went back to being attentive students.


	2. Chapter 2

They'd chosen a table a little away from the lunch crowd, Sterling still felt a little overwhelmed by the noise. But she was happy to be having lunch with April and by extension Ezekiel and Hannah B. It was a little strange to actually be part of their conversation when for years she'd observed them from afar. When Blair stepped into the cafeteria, Sterling waved at her.

After Blair got her food, she came over. "We're not sitting with Luke today?" she asked.

"Luke's with his golf buddies," Sterling said, pointing at a group of boys who seemed very involved in whatever they were talking about.

All but one, as Sterling noticed. Luke had been throwing glances their way for the last ten minutes. He waved at Blair after she'd waved at him. Blair tried to get him to come over but he just smiled and pretended to listen to whatever Franklin was saying. A few minutes later, Sterling saw him looking over again. He was being weird.

"So, is this a thing now?" Blair whispered at her ear. She gestured at the table set-up, Sterling sitting close to April, with Ezekiel and Hannah B sharing all kinds of information with their Queen B.

"I don't know. Do you mind it?"

Blair shrugged. Sterling knew her sister too well to let this go. For the first time since THAT NIGHT, she stared at her sister in that insistent manner that always established their telepathic connection and... nothing. Blair stared back but Sterling couldn't hear what she was thinking. They blinked at each other.

"What do you think, Sterling?" April asked, breaking their intense staring match.

"About..."

"The debutante night at the club."

"There's a... oh, yeah, I think mo...m mentioned it," Sterling said though she was still baffled by the fact that she couldn't telepathically communicate with Blair. Was that bond broken now that they knew they weren't biological sisters? It was a shocking idea, one that had heretofore never occurred to Sterling.

"Are you planning to come out with us?" Hannah B asked excitedly.

Sterling felt April stiffen at her side, the mere vocabulary relation to another topic made her react.

"I haven't really thought about it," Sterling confessed. She looked at Blair.

"Mom would be thrilled but I already told her no," Blair said.

"Oh, why?" Hannah again.

"You do realize that it's a throwback to a time where they would present young women to men like cattle at a farm sale, right? Just thinking about that would make me puke," Blair said in her typical honesty.

Sterling agreed with her but she wanted to talk to April about all this before she made a decision. April didn't seem like the type who'd want to debut.

"Well, it's not like that anymore. I mean we're only sixteen, nobody expects us to get married right away. Or do they?" Hannah B asked, turning to Ezekiel.

"Of course not, Hannah B, it's just symbolic. Just a party where parents can show off their well-behaved off-spring."

"Oh, good," Hannah B said, relieved.

"Are you attending, April?" Blair asked.

April looked up, smiled too quickly, and then avoided eye-contact. "Yes, I will," she said with a determined nod.

Sterling looked at her. She didn't seem nearly as happy with this decision as she pretended to and Sterling could venture an educated guess as tho whose idea it had been: her parents'.

"Maybe I will too," she said aloud now.

"Really?" Blair asked. "I thought you hated--"

Sterling kicked out under the table but only grazed Blair's shin. "I'm thinking about it," she said with emphasis.

"All right. That's... whatever." Blair took her tray and stood. She hadn't finished eating yet but something told Sterling that she didn't want to finish her food at this table. Blair waved at some of her teammates and then walked over to sit with them.

"Is Blair okay?" April asked softly.

"I'm not sure. Something weird just happened."

"Weird?"

"Hm? Oh, just some twin-mishap, I guess. We'll have to sort that out," Sterling answered. Her gaze swept from Blair's back to the table where Luke sat with his friends. He was still watching while trying hard not to make it seem so. Did he have qualms to come over because he and April had dated for a few short days? Why was everybody acting so weird?

She felt April's hand at her arm, pulling her from her upsetting thoughts. "You okay?"

"I think so. Things have changed around here," Sterling said. She'd gotten used to the stares she'd elicited for half the day. Everybody seemed determined to find out where she'd been shot just by looking at her. She'd heard some people discuss it, they were sure she'd been shot. But that was only the tip of the iceberg, her sitting with April and them not trying to claw each other's eyes out was another thing that had people confused. Maybe the next rumor about her would be that she had amnesia and didn't remember that she and April hated each other.

"Not too much," April said. "Don't think about it too much. Things are bound to feel different after three weeks of absence."

Sterling nodded. But she still felt strangely left out of the loop. Even Luke sitting beside his golf buddies was strange, even though she'd known he was back on the team. And him looking over like that reminded her of the first few days after their break-up. And he hadn't even tried to talk to her yet today.

* * *

That changed, however, when Sterling was on her way to the parking lot after school. She was alone, for once, since she was meeting Blair at the car and April had been busy looking over an essay for Hannah B. She'd still offered to go with Sterling but Sterling had declined, she felt good considering, despite being exhausted.

"Hey, Sterl, wait up."

Sterling turned and saw Luke hurry toward her.

"Hey, Luke."

"Hi," he said, breath a little labored from his sprint. "How are you?"

"I'm all right, a little tired." She didn't tell him that people asking her how she was had also become tiring today. She got it, of course, and it was rather sweet how everyone was concerned but they didn't just ask once, they asked multiple times a day and not much else. Everyone seemed strangely tongue-tied around her, probably because they wanted to know what happened but she'd made it clear she didn't want to talk about it.

"You did good, staying all day," he said, patting her on the shoulder. It felt awkward.

"Yeah, I'm pretty proud of that myself. I guess it's easy to get back into the trot of things after years of never questioning it."

"Sure, right. I was... hey, were you holding hands with April in Bible Studies today?"

Sterling stopped abruptly. "Excuse me?"

Luke looked awkwardly at his shoes, he'd stopped a few feet ahead of her. Then he looked up through his shaggy bangs. "I thought I saw you... it looked like you were holding hands."

"You make it sound... a lot gayer than it was. April and I are friends again and she helped me a lot this last week, she's been really supportive."

"Oh, you're friends again."

"Yes, isn't that great?" She smiled, while her heart hammered in her chest. She'd confronted the issue head-on but she still wasn't sure even saying the word 'gay' in this context had been a good idea. But then, hadn't that been exactly what he'd accused them of?

"Yes, it's..." He nodded. Then he sat down on the next bench, his eyes screwed together like he was thinking. "It's good," he said.

She went and sat next to him. "But?"

"Is this about... I don't wanna sound full of myself but is this about me having been with both of you? Did you, like, bond over the fact that you're both over me? I don't understand."

Sterling touched his arm. "This has nothing to do with you, Luke. I mean, we're both still your friends, right?"

"Of course," he answered eagerly.

"But April and I... well, it already started before the night of the lock-in. We just had to... work out some kinks as to what we wanted from this old-new friendship."

"And you worked it out now?"

"Yes," she answered. It wasn't exactly a lie but, of course, it also wasn't the truth. But the truth was something she would never reveal to Luke. It would hurt him to hear how quickly she got over him and fell for April. It would probably hurt him to hear that she fell for April at all. She didn't think he was homophobic, not at his very core, but many people had impressed a lot of opinions on him what a good Christian was and she wasn't sure he questioned many of these opinions.

"I'm glad you're friends again. I wasn't sure what was going on that's why I kept my distance today. I'm sorry if that was stupid."

"No, it wasn't, though I wish you would have just come over during lunch to clear the air." Sterling lay her hand on his forearm, squeezed it, and pulled away again.

"I don't always find it easy to talk to April. She's very... dominant."

Sterling laughed. "Yeah, she is."

"You're easier to talk to unless it's about Star Wars. You should really get into that, you know?"

"That's what April says too but Science-Fiction isn't really my genre."

He sighed. They'd had this discussion before and so far, he'd never been able to convince her.

"I wanted to talk about something else," he said. His gaze swept from hers around the grounds. "That night, we kissed."

They hadn't talked about that yet. In fact, looking back Sterling was sure they'd talked around it.

"I didn't say anything until now. I mean, you had other things on your mind and all. I didn't want to seem needy," he continued

"That was very kind of you," she said. She took a deep breath, her own eyes looked over the planted green toward the parking lot, kind of hoping that Blair would come up from there to get her. She could be impatient like that, if she'd only be impatient right now.

"So, what did it mean. That kiss?"

Sterling swallowed, it was time to face the music. "It meant that that night was very... confusing, even before all the bad stuff happened. I was... that is, I wasn't in a good place and I'm afraid I kissed you for entirely the wrong reasons. I'm sorry."

"So, that means we're still only friends?" He hung his head.

"Not only, Luke, never only. Being friends is great."

"It seems to pale in comparison with what we had before."

She lay her hand back on his arm and he put his hand over hers to keep it there.

"One day you'll find something that is so much better even than what we had that it will pale in comparison. But I hope that even then we'll still be friends, Luke."

"I don't think I'll ever have something better than what we had, Sterl. It already was everything," he said sadly.

She leaned against him, putting her head on his shoulder. "We're so young, Luke. We have no perception of how great things can get yet. But having you as my friend, it has always been and will always be one of the best things in my life."

He smiled a little. "I love you too," he said.

She laughed. "That will never change, Luke."

He nodded. Then he turned and hugged her.

It felt good and yet, Sterling felt her good mood deflate. She felt suddenly bad for him, and bad about how she'd treated him. It had all dissolved so quickly for her but he was still struggling. Why wasn't she struggling more? Was she heartless? But that couldn't be because... her heart was full to the brim with April.


End file.
